Ub Iwerks Studio Directory
After Walt Disney and longtime collaborator Ub Iwerks had a falling out in 1930, Pat Powers backed Iwerks in creating his own studio, Celebrity Productions. Some say that Powers instigated falling out, trying to use iWerks as a bargaining chip against Walt Disney in a distribution deal. In either case, Powers was the money behind Iwerks new studio.
With a distribution deal with MGM, Flip the Frog was full of promise- The first Flip cartoon- Fiddlesticks- was notable for being the first sound cartoon to be produced in two-color Technicolor. The series ran to nearly forty entries before running out of steam in 1933, and was succeeded by Willie Whopper.
It was while running his own studio that Iwerks famously developed his multiplane camera. While his was not the first used in animation, it was the most usable, and the first in Hollywood. It is said that the Iwerks camera rig was build from parts of an old Chevrolet automobile. The Disney Studios was working on one concurrently, but it would not be used until The Old Mill (1937).
By 1936, MGM's intrest in the studios two series waned. I werks proposed a new series, ComiColor Cartoons, but MGM was looking for more kid-friendly animation. P.A. Powers was forced to self-distributed the series. These were classic tales told in animated shorts. While well produced, none of the series caught on, the financiers back out and Ub Iwerks was forced to fold his studio in 1936.
Iwerks made his way to Leon Schlesinger Productions at Warner Bros. Studios, where he directed two Looney Tunes shorts. He then jumped over to the A Color Rhapsody at Columbia Pictures, where he directed sixteen shorts between 1937 and 1940. By 1940, he returned to The Walt Disney Studios, where he spent the rest of his career.
With a distribution deal with MGM, Flip the Frog was full of promise- The first Flip cartoon- Fiddlesticks- was notable for being the first sound cartoon to be produced in two-color Technicolor. The series ran to nearly forty entries before running out of steam in 1933, and was succeeded by Willie Whopper.
It was while running his own studio that Iwerks famously developed his multiplane camera. While his was not the first used in animation, it was the most usable, and the first in Hollywood. It is said that the Iwerks camera rig was build from parts of an old Chevrolet automobile. The Disney Studios was working on one concurrently, but it would not be used until The Old Mill (1937).
By 1936, MGM's intrest in the studios two series waned. I werks proposed a new series, ComiColor Cartoons, but MGM was looking for more kid-friendly animation. P.A. Powers was forced to self-distributed the series. These were classic tales told in animated shorts. While well produced, none of the series caught on, the financiers back out and Ub Iwerks was forced to fold his studio in 1936.
Iwerks made his way to Leon Schlesinger Productions at Warner Bros. Studios, where he directed two Looney Tunes shorts. He then jumped over to the A Color Rhapsody at Columbia Pictures, where he directed sixteen shorts between 1937 and 1940. By 1940, he returned to The Walt Disney Studios, where he spent the rest of his career.
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Ub Iwerks Studio Cartoon Series:
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Celebrity Productions
(1930 – 1937, 26 Cartoons.) -
Flip the Frog
(1930 – 1933, 38 Theatrical Cartoons.)
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Willie Whopper
(1933 – 1934, 14 Theatrical Cartoons.)
